The present invention improves upon the dispensing vial disclosed in co-applicant Jonathan B. Levine's U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/546,479, filed Jul. 11, 2012, and which was published as Publication No. US 2014/0016981 A1 on Jan. 16, 2014. The prior application, above-mentioned, discloses a dispensing vial commercially described as the “G-Vial” in which a vial of tooth whitening substance is hermetically sealed within a chamber by a foil seal and a piercing element permits the seal to be broken to allow the tooth whitening gel to be dispensed on the teeth of the user using a comb-like applicator. A removable limit stop precludes the seal from being pierced until the limit stop is removed, thereby allowing a piercing element to pierce the seal.
While this arrangement has proven effective in storing and dispensing tooth whitener onto a user's teeth, Applicants found that simplifying the design and providing a more effective applicator would enhance the whitening process, and that a simplified design could also be used to dispense breath freshener and desensitizing substances.
Additionally, Applicants concluded that providing a specific relationship between the viscosity of the tooth whitening substance and the flexibility of the applicator could enhance the effectiveness of applying a tooth whitener to the user's teeth, and that an applicator tip designed to be anatomically compatible with different areas of the oral cavity could facilitate use in dispensing other oral care substances such as breath fresheners, tooth desensitizing substances, gum treating medications, and remineralizing products. With these thoughts in mind, the present invention was developed.
Applicants make reference to the following prior patents of co-inventor Jonathan B. Levine: U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,201,577; 7,597,497; 8,262,306; 8,262,390; 8,267,609; 8,398,324; and 8,419,306. Each of these patents discloses and claims a dispensing device designed to dispense substances including tooth whitening gels. However, none of these references teaches or suggests the particular applicator structure or relationship between viscosity of an oral care treatment gel and flexibility of the applicator.